Thursday Thirteen – 13 Ways to (Try to) Stop Julia from Crying

My niece Julia (Susan’s daughter) is adorable. If you don’t believe me, just scroll down and check out her big blue eyes in my latest Wordless Wednesday.

But, she is a very high maintenance, fussy, little thing. She will allow only her Mommy, Daddy, Grandma or I to touch her – and all too often only Mommy will do. And even with Mommy, and especially if Jackson isn’t there to entertain her, Julia spends a huge part of her day fussing.

So here are some of the ways we try to soothe or entertain her.

Thirteen Ways to (Try to) Stop Julia from Crying

1. Looking for doggies – Julia loves dogs and the best way to calm her down is to hold her and look out the window to see if the neighbor’s dogs are out playing.
2. The Wiggles – But we have to fast forward and watch only the songs.
3. Baby Mum Mum Cookies – Getting Julia to eat is always a struggle… except for Baby Mum Mums. If she’s having an extra bad fit because she’s in her highchair (one of her least favorite places), sometimes we resort to the Mum Mums. It’s amazing what a little cookie can do.
4. Shoes – Julia loves to wear shoes and play with shoes.
5. Water – Especially pouring water from a bottle into a cup and letting her drink from it.
6. Lids – Taking on and off the lids from pretty much anything.
7. Playing with shoe boxes – This girl has a lot of shoes and a lot of shoe boxes. Playing with the boxes, putting toys in and out, is almost as much fun as the shoes themselves.
8. Singing to her – She especially loves Jackson singing to her.
9. Playing “Monkeys on the Bed” – Julia, Jackson and I jump on Susan’s bed while, singing, “Two little monkeys jumping on the bed” and watch ourselves in the huge mirror. (Don’t worry the bed is actually a king size mattress on the floor for extra safety because Julia is a cosleeper and Susan is paranoid.)
10. Blowing on the back of her neck – This is a recent little trick that has helped lately when she’s crying because she doesn’t want to go to bed.
11. Grandma – Sometimes it seems like she has magical powers. But of course, the magic only works sometimes.
12. Tickling – Julia is a very serious, quiet little thing (unless she is playing with Jackson – then she goes wild) and one of the only times you get hysterical, belly laughs from her is playing chase and tickle.
13. If all else fails, give her to her Mommy.

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